Penis Not Required

This has already been an incredible year. My counseling business is booming, so much so that I just hired an employee to help me with the workload. Modern Seamstress is going strong with custom clients & sewing classes, and my new project, Modern Studio, is off to a great start. Somehow I’ve taken to entrepreneurship and not looked back. Despite how awesome it is to set my own schedule and make the tough decisions that need to be made, running businesses as an educated female in the South is a whole other animal.

As most of you know, my partner Victor and I are collaborating on Modern Studio and while we have different roles, we make decisions as a unit. Yesterday we ran into a minor issue with a third party that had the potential to drastically impact our crowdfunding campaign. As CEO (more on that in a bit), I took the lead on resolving the issue: I drafted a very professional email stating the problem and requesting a specific fix.

Women face an interesting bias in the business world. The recipient of my email referred to me as a “pistol.” Had Victor sent the email I doubt he’d have been labeled anything – “Dude, I’m so sorry man. We’ll fix it.” Despite getting the resolution I wanted, it was met with a tone I imagine most women experience when they speak up on behalf of their projects.

Studies show that women make amazing CEOs and business leaders. Just last night a trusted friend & mentor explained that women combine the ability to nurture with the ability to be strong. These two traits combined, it turns out, make for an amazing leader. There’s a reason we decided that I should be labeled CEO — I’m the one naturally able to make quick decisions without emotion taking hold. I’m also less prone to react to peer pressure or fear conflict. That doesn’t mean Victor is any less effective, it simply means that I become less stressed and anxious over the tasks associated with the role.

I founded Modern Seamstress on the goal of empowering women, and I can already see that becoming an important part of Modern Studio. I want to be a role model for young women to encourage them to chase their dreams and not take any shit in the process. I want to hire employers, make a difference in the community, and be the best damn leader I can possibly be.